Destination ‘So You Think You Can Dance’: Adam Shankman tells all

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“I wish you knew how good you were,” guest judge Adam Shankman told “So You Think You Can Dance” contestant Jessica King after her performance June 25. Adam went on to tell Jessica that she was her own worst enemy.

I caught up with Adam after last Thursday’s show to talk about his statement’s impact on Jessica and to talk about the other 15 dancers.

Adam on Jessica:

“She just came up to me, almost with tears in her eyes. She said, ‘I can’t thank you enough for what you said.’ I felt like I was stating the obvious, because I’ve seen in her performances since Vegas; she’s holding herself back. It’s like she’s afraid. … I was like, ‘Dancing is not something to be afraid of.’ … she, like I said, was her own worst enemy. I’m hoping she heard me. She said she heard me.”

Adam on the importance of last week’s solos:

“The solos solidified some stuff for us. We were a little on the fence with the boys. … What it boiled down to today was evolution. Who has the potential to evolve the most and who have we seen change since Vegas. And the two who were going home probably changed the least. But they are still special dancers. Who I would hire.”

Adam on Matt Dorame:

“Matt’s solo was beautiful. He’s a beautiful technician. But he’s also gonna have to start losing himself in the dancing if he wants to stay.”

Adam on his responsibility as a judge:

“I feel bad because I feel like, ‘Oh, my God, I’m just one guy sitting here watching it and I’m speaking my observation, but is America then taking it and making their decisions based on what I was saying?’ ‘Cause [the bottom three] was literally the exact three couples that we criticized.”

Adam on his favorites:

“Twitch [Boss] I love, like, beyond. Mark [Kanemura] and Chelsie [Hightower] are absolutely genius. I think they’ll go really far. And I love Will [Wingfield]. Will is on fire. Let’s see how he adapts to all the other styles now.”

-- Stephanie Lysaght